Conventional data storage techniques rely on data backup and/or replication solutions to recover lost data. For example, conventional remote device(s) and/or system(s) perform replication and/or backup of data stored in a storage device by reading data from each storage element of the storage device and copying the data to another remote, storage device. In another example, conventional device(s) and/or system(s) copy the data to the remote storage device via a network, such as a local area network or a wide area network.
In yet another example, conventional data storage techniques copy the data to the remote storage device based on whether the data has changed. Such techniques determine whether the data has changed, e.g., by remotely computing a signature of data of each storage element of the storage device utilizing one or more algorithms, and copying the data of the storage element to the remote storage device if the signature of the data has changed.
One concern with conventional data storage techniques is that data throughput of a storage device, and/or an associated interface coupled to the storage device, limits a rate at which the storage device is backed-up and/or replicated, i.e., via the associated interface. Under ideal data throughput conditions, data can be moved from a large storage device to a remote storage device, e.g., via a wide area network, at a rate of 10 Gbits/sec; however, under non-ideal data throughput conditions, data is currently moved from the large storage device to the remote storage device at a rate of 10 Mbits/sec. During such non-ideal throughput conditions, data backup and/or replication can take hours, days, or even weeks to complete via the wide area network.
Although conventional data storage techniques, for example, compute the signature of data of each storage element of a storage device to assist replication and/or backup of the storage device, such techniques require calculating and/or communicating the data signature of each storage element of the storage device during a backup and/or replication of the storage device—consuming time, consuming network bandwidth, consuming processing resources, etc.
The above-described deficiencies of today's data storage environments and related technologies are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art, and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein, may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.